Eva Caroline Smith
Born Mar 31,
1889 – Died Dec 4, 1988
and husband,
Jasper
May 10, 1884
– September 21, 1974
My
grandmother, Eva Caroline Smith, was born in Select,
In
1908 at her parent's home at age 19, she married Jasper Newton Cox, 24, who
only months before had been discharged from the Army after serving five
years. They had grown up together in the
same town, being neighbors, and attended the
From Oral History Interview:
Tape recording:
3-10-77: Grandmother: “Yes, I had a sewing machine. The first one I had came from Sears and
Roebuck. We were living on a farm in
~.~
Every
year, her birthday on March 31 was a big event and everyone who could, came to help
her celebrate it. As long as she lived
in her own home, it was celebrated there; after she moved to
A
wonderful story teller, Eva Cox recounted spell-binding stories of family
happenings and day-to-day living in an era that is gone forever. As her oldest granddaughter, I visited her
frequently to collect her life history. Though it was hard times, she made even
the Depression years seem exciting! She
left a legacy - her life history, preserved on cassette tapes over a 17-year period,
which will ultimately become the basis for my book about her life, her parents,
brothers and sisters, and her grandparents, one of whom was a Civil War
soldier. He was Thomas Smith, who fought
on the Union side, and was captured by a group of Confederates on New Year's
Day near
While
Eva Cox did not make much history herself, she lived through some of the most
momentous years in recorded history.
Seventeen presidents of the
My grandmother's early Kentucky tales recall the family smokehouse, making syrup and soap, moving from their old log house to a new two-story log house built by her father when she was five, home chores, her brothers and sisters, play parties, church activities, and her courtship and marriage. Her tales filled many pleasurable hours for our family members while sitting out on the back porch, or after a special Sunday dinner while sitting around her dining table.
She
told many stories to her grandchildren when they were young. I asked her once if the stories were true,
and she chuckled and said, "Some were, but some I made up." All of the stories, though, were very
entertaining. When she was trying to get
us to take a nap, we lay on the bed and she played little games with us, which
we will always remember. Her favorite
songs were "My Old Kentucky Home," "Little
Brown Church in the Wildwood", “In
The Sweet Bye and Bye,” and "Sweet
Hour of Prayer." When she
lived in
Every year everyone in the family who was home went over to her house to watch the Kentucky Derby with her. My grandmother always tried to watch it, and when they played "My Old Kentucky Home" before the race started, one time she rose from her chair and stood with her hand on her heart. She said there was no other song like that one; it always reminded her of her home and native state, and so it was another of her favorites.
She
was still telling her life stories to me, even six months before her
death. She had a wonderful recall and
memory, and a dry wit, coupled with a soft-spoken voice that had just a hint of
a
Darrell loaned me a copy of
Grandmother's "Day Book" that was written by her own mother, Sarah
(Sanders) Smith, for each of her children. (She died a year later, November
1931). It was a long, thin, gray,
canvass-covered book...100 pages. At the
end Sarah Smith wrote:
"June
18, in the year 1930" -- below this
date she wrote these words:
"Mrs. Eva C. Cox, My Daughter, this Book is written in Rememberance of your Mother. With lots of love. Mrs. Sarah Smith."
What a great thing for her to do and
she must have worked diligently a little bit each day to make one of these for
each of her eight living children. It
must have helped to pass lonely days, and she realized how valuable it would be
for each of her children to have - "lest they forget."
She wanted them to know where their roots were. She was undoubtedly a very smart and intelligent woman, with great common sense.
~.~
"Troup Couple Will Mark 65th Anniversary Sunday”
Troup--Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Cox of Troup with observe their 65th wedding anniversary with members of their family Sunday.
Both were born in
They are the parents of four children: Mrs. Darrell Appl of
Other descendants include six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren."
~.~
The obituary for my grandmother, Eva Caroline (Smith) Cox, which appeared in the Tyler Morning Telegraph on Monday, December 5, 1988 is quoted here:
"Mrs. E. C. Cox Services Tuesday"
Services of Mrs. Eva Caroline Cox, 99,
Burial will be in
Mrs. Cox died Sunday in a
She was born March 31, 1889 in
Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Darrell Appl, Tyler, Mrs. Eula
Mae Smith,
Interment will be in
~.~
My
grandfather, Jasper Newton Cox, was the 12th child of the fourteen children
born to his parents, James William Cox and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell of
~.~
His obituary in the Tyler Morning Telegraph in September 1974 is quoted below:
"J. N.
COX"
New Summerfield --
J. N. Cox, 90, of New Summerfield died
Saturday morning at
his residence following a brief illness.
Funeral services are
set for Monday at 2 p.m. in the Lloyd
James Funeral Home
chapel with the Rev. Milton Gardner
officiating. Masonic graveside services will follow at the
Rose
Mr. Cox was a native
of
drilling department
of several major oil companies. He was a
veteran of the
Spanish American War in which he served with
the
25 years. Mr. Cox was a member of the Baptist Church,
the Troup
Masonic Lodge No.
272, and had been a Mason for 49 years.
His survivors include his wife, Mrs. Eva C. Cox of New Summerfield,
a son, Gilbert Cox
of New Summerfield; three daughters, Mrs.
Robert A. Smith of
and nine
great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers will be
Masons."
Note: When my aunt wrote the information for her father's
obituary, she did not realize that it was not the Spanish American War that her
father fought in, but rather, the period after the war called the
"Insurrection Period."
Thanks to Janice Brown.
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